War in My Flesh

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11 ESV)

This is war.  And the problem is not just the devil, the problem our flesh. The old carnal nature of our bodies.  

The answer is abstinence.  Not easy but oh so necessary.  

What does Paul say?

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 

There is no doubt the only solution is to say no to what our flesh wants. To remember that every time you say yes to the flash it's like you're choosing to lose a part of your soul. For that is what Peter says, the passions of our flesh wage war against our soul. 

What does James say?

James 4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 

James give this a good clue here. He tells us that our passions are the result of looking at what other people have and coveting.  What is the root of coveting? Is it not just content with what God has assigned to you.

I'm grateful for the ways in which God has made me content. I am truly happy with what I have. I need very few things in my life.  Ultimately I know from experience that more things often bring more headaches and less freedom.

Which brings us back to what Peter says later on in Chapter 2: 

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16 ESV)

In this war learning to curb her appetites for things that we don't have is the only way to truly live in peace. Look at Jesus, he had no place to lay his head yes he was nice. Look at Paul he was a Roman prison and yet he said I have learned the secret to be content in any situation. There's a power to being content with the world cannot take away.

PRAYER:

Father thank you for the blessings that I have. I asked that you give me eyes generosity. I ask that you help me to live a life giving and sharing and not accumulating. I pray that prayer that was taught me years ago, Lord, I want to want to give.